Supporting roller for sheet material



ly 1964 T M. w. LUSEBRINK 3,140,059.

SUPPORTING ROLLER FOR SHEET MATERIAL Filed Nov. 28, 1962 INVENTOR. I743) 14- LUSEERINK i 'ij United States Patent "ice 3,140,059 SUPPORTING ROLLER FOR SHEET MATERIAL Mary W. Lusehrinlr, 22 Wilkins Court, New Shrewshurg, NJ. Filed Nov. 28, 1962, Ser. No. 240,516 3 Claims. (Cl. 2 .2-55.2)

This invention relates to a supporting device for the mounting of rolls of paper such as toilet paper in a dispensing apparatus and particularly relates to the axle or support for the roll of paper for manual dispensing. Paper rolls and sheet material rolls are usually provided with a cardboard tube support. In the case of toilet paper the cardboard tube is of a standard size and the roll of paper is usually identical in size so that it may be mounted in the various holders such as a wall receptacle and rotatably supported on a rod. The rod or axle may have trunnions at each end with one trunnion being yieldable inwardly. Such toilet paper holders have been relatively expensive to manufacture and although intended as an axle to support the roll of paper while being rotated they do not retain the roll in a concentric position, rather the roll sags or drops by its own weight due to a loose fit through the cardboard tube and with a full roll of paper it binds against the wall or receptacle holding it. Also when the roll is fairly well spent any dispensing of paper will make it bump or rotate in an eccentric pattern thus causing a great deal of noise during the dispensing.

The object of this invention is to provide a simple axle that fits snugly within the supporting tube for a roll of paper and supports the tube or roll in a concentric position and in which the axle is provided with a pair of trunnions one at each end to retain the roll.

A further object of this invention is to provide a hollow plastic roller that fits into and supports the tube on which the sheet material is rolled and in which the roller is constructed with a pair of projecting trunnions one at each end to retain the roller in a concentric position for smooth noiseless rotation during dispensing.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a hollow plastic roller that fits into and supports the tube on which the sheet material is rolled and in which the roller is constructed with a pair of projecting trunnions one at each end to retain the roller in a concentric position and in which the roller is provided with a yieldable portion so that it may be foreshortened laterally to permit insertion of the roller in a holder and will expand to its normal length to support the roll within the holder.

A further object of this invention is to provide a plastic tube that may be fitted over a standard wooden roller for a toilet paper dispenser in which the plastic tube retains the toilet paper roll in a concentric relation with the center roller so that the paper is retained in a concentric position While being dispensed.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a plurality of ring shaped supports that may be fitted over a standard wooden roller for a toilet paper dispenser in Which the supports retain the toilet paper roll in a concentric relation with the center roller so that the paper is retained in a concentric position while being dispensed.

Other objects of this invention shall be apparent by reference to the accompanying detailed described and the drawings in which FIG. 1 is an elevational view partially in cross section of a supporting axle for a roll of paper,

FIG. 2 is an elevational view partially in cross section of a further embodiment,

FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view of a plurality of supporting elements fitted to an existing roller,

3,140,059 Patented July 7., 1964 FIG. 4 is a cross sectional view of a further embodi ment similar to FIG. 3, and

FIG. 5 is a cross sectional view of a still further embodiment of FIG. 3.

Referring to the drawings and especially FIG. 1 there is illustrated an elevational view of a hollow plastic supporting axle or roller 10 for a roll of paper such as toilet paper. The axle or roller 10 in this instance is a one piece blow moulding constructed of any of the plastics that lend themselves to blow moulding such as polyethylene, styrene, etc. In FIG. 1 the roller 10 is provided with a trunnion 13 at either end thereof. The size of the trunnion may vary but for a toilet roll dispenser it is usually approximately diameter. However a plastic bushing 14 with a center and an outside diameter of /8 may be provided so that the roller will fit the other standardized sizes used in some receptacles. The roller 10 is constructed with two end portions 15 to fit snugly into the cardboard retaining tube on which the paper is rolled and there is provided a section 12 between the portions 15 that is yieldable laterally to permit squeezing the roller or foreshortening the roller so that it may be mounted into a dispensing support. The yieldable center 12, due to the roller being completely sealed and prestressed, will expand back to its normal size when released. The yieldable section 12 in this embodiment is constructed in the form of a bellows. The larger portions 15 are provided with a plurality of ribs or teeth 16 around the periphery so that the friction in inserting the roller or removing the roller is reduced while the same perfect support is provided. When ribs or teeth 16 are utilized they are naturally spaced equally about the periphery and when ribs are used they are of sulficient length to provide an equal support. The roller 10 although described with relation to a roller for toilet paper may be similarly constructed for a longer roller for other sheet material in which sections 15 are elongated. Section 12 is not increased in size, it is only provided with sufiicient lateral yield to permit mounting the roller.

Referring to FIG. 2 there is illustrated a roller 10A similar to FIG. 1 being constructed in a similar fashion as a blow moulding of a plastic that lends itself to this process. However in this instance, roller 10A is provided with a slightly diiferent configuration. The ends are similarly provided with trunnions 13 and the supporting ends 15 for the tube are of approximately the same diameter as the tube to be supported except that the projecting ribs or teeth 16 are about the periphery to reduce the frictional grip. In this embodiment the center of the roller is simply a reduced diameter to provide a weakened center 12A that is easily distortable so that in use the tube 10A may be squeezed laterally and the center 12A will yield or distort until the lateral pressure is released when the roller will rapidly resume its normal shape. The intention is to produce the structural configuration shown so that the roller may be easily foreshortened laterally by squeezing for insertion into a holder or support, but will immediately return to its original shape and lateral length upon release.

Referring to FIG. 3 there is illustrated a normal wooden roller 9, a standard type presently used as a toilet paper axle or support for dispensing, in which the roller 9 is provided with trunnions 8 at either end thereof and in which one of the trunnions is yieldable laterally such as at 8A. According to this invention it is possible to make a standard roller of this type into a better supporting roller to provide the type of concentric support intended by the prior embodiments. In order that the eccentric support that is now provided may be corrected it is necessary to provide supporting ring shaped elements 18 that will slipover the ends of the roller 9. However in view of the yieldable end 8A, one support 18 may be solid while the opposite support 18A must be in two pieces that is the larger type ring portion 19 and a small cup shaped element 20. The ring shaped elements 18 and 18A are provided with a supporting rib 21 whose external periphery is of the same diameter as the internal diameter of the tube to be supported. The cup shaped ends covering the trunnions 8 are small enough to fit snugly into the receptacle or holder in which the roller is to be fitted. They may or may not be used according to the size of the fixture holder. The supporting rings 18, 18A may be constructed of a plastic or of rubber or any material that permits mounting of the roller and a good retention of the roller in the ring shaped support. In this embodiment although it is primarily constructed for a toilet paper roller, it may be also provided for longer rollers for supporting other sheet material such as foil or cellophane, etc. However when the roller 9 is longer, a central ring 183 may be utilized; ring 188 is also provided with a circular supporting rib or teeth 21 and of course for an extremely long roller, there may be more than one supporting ring 188.

Referring to FIG. 4 there is illustrated a somewhat similar embodiment to that illustrated in FIG. 3 in which the standard roller 9 may be provided with supporting rings 22 at either end thereof. Rings 22 are similar to the rings 13 of the prior embodiment except that they are provided with a circular aperture at their center to permit the trunnion 3 to extend through the aperture 23, thus the supporting rings 22 may be slipped onto either end of a normal roller to provide a concentric support for the roll to be dispensed and as in the previous embodiment with a longer roll, the rings similar to 18B of the previous embodiment may be utilized to provide central support.

Referring to FIG. there is illustrated a still further embodiment of this invention in which a supporting tube 25 is provided for mounting over a standard roller 9. With a standard roller 9, the tube 25 may be slipped in place as illustrated to provide a concentric support for the roll that is to be dispensed. In this instance the tube 25 will fit the roller 9 snugly to provide the proper support and it will be of a length to equal the roll that is to be supported such as a toilet paper roll. The outer circumference of tube 25 is provided with a plurality of circular ribs or teeth 21 of a size to fit snugly within the supporting tube for the paper or sheet material to be dispensed. Tube 25 is provided with an abutting end 26 at one end that will abut with the roller 9 yet allow the trunnion 8A to protrude through end 26 when it is mounted. The opposite end of tube 25 is provided with a cutout portion 27 so that the yieldable trunnion 8A of a normal standard roller 9 may move laterally in the manner in which it is now operated for mounting in a recep- 4 tacle or holder. Without this cutout portion 27 there would be no clearance around 8A to release the yieldable trunnion end SA after the paper has been dispensed.

Although the axle or roller has been described with relation to the dispensing of toilet paper, this roller is intended for supporting any of the paper products or foil or plastic Wrap as long as it is provided in sheet form for dispensing. The roll or axle is also intended as a support for ribbon or cloth and the roll or axle lends itself to the support of a camera film or for supporting any tube on which a sheet product is rolled and of course the roller illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 may be used for directly supporting a loosely wound product such as the film used in a camera. Although the roller described in FIGS. 1 and 2 is preferably made as a blow moulding in plastic, it may similarly be made of rubber or it may be made from a thin sheet metal to provide a similar result and various changes may be made in the configuration of the bellows of section 12, that is, for a longer roll, the angle of the bellows may be changed to give less or more lateral yield as desired without departing from the spirit of this invention and this invention shall be limited only by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A roller support for a roll of sheet material which includes a roller having a trunnion at either end, said roller being in the form of a hollow sealed container in which the central portion of said hollow sealed container is constructed in the form of a bellows and in which the bellows portion has a degree of flexibility to permit a lateral foreshortening when squeezed and a rapid return to normal length when released.

2. A roller support for a roll of sheet material which includes a roller having a trunnion at either end, said roller being in the form of a hollow sealed container in which the central portion of said hollow sealed container is of a reduced diameter so that a compression of the roller axially will foreshorten the roller along its axis in the central portion but will rapidly return to its axial length and normal form when the compression is released.

3. In a device according to claim 2 in which said trunnions are provided with a plurality of equally spaced supporting surfaces for said roll of sheet material and in which said supporting surfaces spaced equally around the 360 of the internal surface of the roll of sheet material are in the form of teeth.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,825,822 Rundell Oct. 6, 1931 2,699,903 Montgomery Jan. 18, 1955 2,944,749 Maier July 13, 1960 3,051,404 Ritchey Aug. 28, 1962 

1. A ROLLER SUPPORT FOR A ROLL OF SHEET MATERIAL WHICH INCLUDES A ROLLER HAVING A TRUNNION AT EITHER END, SAID ROLLER BEING IN THE FORM OF A HOLLOW SEALED CONTAINER IN WHICH THE CENTRAL PORTION OF SAID HOLLOW SEALED CONTAINER WHICH THE CENTRAL PORTION OF SAID HOLLOW SEALED CONTAINER IS CONSTRUCTED IN THE FORM OF A BELLOWS AND IN WHICH THE BELLOWS PORTION HAS A DEGREE OF FLEXIBILITY TO PERMIT A LATERAL FORESHORTENING WHEN SQUEEZED AND A RAPID RETURN TO NORMAL LENGTH WHEN RELEASED. 